Tastes So Good Tuesday: Tone It Up Protein Bars

Hi loves! Have you noticed that I've turned Tastes So Good... into a fortnightly thing? Do people prefer this format or would you rather I go back to weekly posts? I'm easy either way!

This week's recipe (is not my own!) has fast become one of my favourite Tone It Up recipes that I've ever made!

With the start of the Drop 10 Challenge looming last week, I was really motivated and inspired to stick to the Tone It Up plan and really incorporate it into my Uni life. That being said, I needed to find some good Meal 2 and Meal 4 options that were easily portable and quick to get together!

I had bought a Trek bar earlier on in the week on campus as a quick fix and I had seen a few bar recipes floating around on Pinterest so I decided that I was going to make my own bars! Whilst the Trek bar tasted ok (I used to think it tasted really good - then I tasted my own!) it cost close to £1 for one bar - following today's recipe I made 14 bars for an absolute fraction of the price!

As I mentioned above, the recipe this week is not my own although I made some modifications.

I didn't use the almonds listed in the TIU recipe and instead of a whole cup of dried apricots, I used half a cup and added half a cup of cranberries =D And that's it!!

What's more, they are no bake bars and are super simple! They have also kept really really well - I wrapped them up individually and stored them all in a tupperware container. 

I honestly cannot recommend these bars enough, they are completley filling, taste like no other bar I have ever tasted in my life (AKA AMAZING!) What's more - they are so so easy to take any where with me - M2 has become the meal I most look forward to every day!!

I know what some of you might be thinking; 'protein bars - yuk!' But honestly, protein powder is not going to make you bulk up and it is not going to make you look like you've been abusing steroids; it is going to help your body repair from all those crazy workouts you've been doing and it tastes delicious! I (of course!) use Perfect Fit Protein :)

For the recipe you can click here! Trust me - these bars will change your life hehe!

Love and Hugs,

Georgie xx

Bar Haul!

I know...I have a problem. If you saw my latest Whole Foods Haul video (here) then you'll know I get very excited when I see Bars and usually end up buying ridiculous amounts of them. If you're on the Tone It Up Diet Plan, you know how useful bars are for post-workout fuel or for a Meal 2 or 4 option.

Today was no exception - I bought 5 bars in 3 minutes
I had just left the gym and needed something to tide me over until lunch so I went in to the Student Union store at my University in search of something healthy for my Meal 2. 

I was actually really impressed by the variety of healthy options this tiny little store on campus had. Yes it was more expensive than going to a supermarket but still - I was happy; there was a whole unit for health food eating (I know that's not a real term but whatever haha). If you're in the UK, like me, then you'll know it's really difficult (bordering impossible) to get hold of Larabars, Clif Bars, Luna bars etc here. These two brands, I think, are a really good alternative.

I'm such a dork haha

I picked up five bars (3 from one brand, 2 from another) and I am super pleased with my purchases!

From one brand (that I had heard of) called Trek, I bought two bars. One Mixed Berry Wholefood Energy Bar and one Cocoa Brownie Wholefood Energy Bar. Both count towards 1 of your 5-a-day, they are wheat and dairy free and are suitable for Vegans. They are also made with all natural ingredients, so you'll be able to pronounce everything on the wrapper! They are also made in the UK which I like because it makes them cheaper than Clif bars etc which are imported and because it's gret to support UK businesses. The berry bar has 203cals, 11g protein and 5g of fibre and the brownie bar has 223 cals, 12g protein and 5g of fibre.

They also taste great and they're really filling so I tend to eat half of one and save the rest for later =P

I have seen Trek bars in Boots - so I know you can buy them there but you can also get them in places like Holland and Barrett, Tescos, Waitrose, Asda etc - a whole list of stockists can be found here

You can also bulk-buy on their website with free delivery - this again will work out cheaper :)

The next bars I found, I was actually really interested by because I hadn't even heard of the brand before and I consider myself to be pretty up on my UK Wholefoods! They're called O Bars and they were 89p per bar - which is relatively cheap considering the shop I was in.

I picked up three flavours; an Apple and Cranberry Oat Bar (which I ate straight away haha), a Pomegranate and Raspberry Oat Bar and a Vanilla and Blueberry Oat Bar.

My first impression of the Apple and Cranberry bar was that it was really sweet - it doesn't have any aded sugar; only what has come from the fruit but it might just be my taste buds! They are all made with 60% fruit so I have no doubt that this contributes!

All of the bars are Dairy and Wheat free and are suitable for vegetarians, they ranged from 180 - 184 calories per bar, 3.3 to 3.4g of  protein and they all had 2.1g of fibre. 

I have never seen them in stores before today and I did have a job to find a website, but I eventually did.

You can buy them in wholesale here and if I see them in any more stores I shall let you know!

Do you love bars as much as me?

Love and Hugs,

Georgie xx